A CBS News producer who has worked for the network for more than two decades spoke at an official Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) event, where he praised the terror group and its "path of struggle and martyrdom," according to a media watchdog group.
Marwan al-Ghoul, a CBS producer based in the Gaza Strip, has also served as a public official in the Hamas-controlled territory, a job that has brought him into contact with known terrorists, according to an investigation published Wednesday by Honest Reporting. In 2018, he spoke at an official PFLP event, honoring one of the designated terror group's leaders, who was related to al-Ghoul.
"Al-Ghoul spoke on behalf of the family, which ‘expressed their gratitude to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and their esteemed comrades everywhere in the Palestinian land … for their … commitment to continue the struggle,’" according to Honest Reporting's investigation, which was assembled from Arabic language reports and social media postings.
Al-Ghoul went on to emphasize his family's dedication to "‘maintaining the noble national values established by the leading martyrs, such as Al-Hakim, Abu Ali Mustafa, and Wadie Haddad, and those who followed their path of struggle and martyrdom,’" the report states.
Al-Ghoul is the latest Gaza-based journalist to be accused of working alongside Hamas and harboring bias against Israel. A CNN contributor was found earlier this month to have "served in a Hamas-run body" and snapped pictures alongside Hamas’s leaders.
American media outlets like CBS News, CNN, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, and others have come under intense scrutiny for their coverage of the Hamas-Israel war, with critics describing their reportage as error-ridden and slanted against the Jewish state. The Post in particular has filled its foreign desk with staffers who previously wrote for Al Jazeera, the Doha-based news outlet bankrolled in part by Qatar's Hamas-friendly government.
CBS mentioned al-Ghoul in a July 12 report detailing "the latest Israeli assault" in Gaza City. "CBS News' Gaza producer Marwan al-Ghoul said there were near constant explosions thundering across the Palestinian territory from 11 p.m. Thursday night until 5 a.m. Friday," wrote CBS senior foreign correspondent Holly Williams. In January, meanwhile, CBS published an interview with al-Ghoul titled, "100 ‘Miserable’ Days: CBS News Gaza Producer Marwan al-Ghoul Shares His Perspective on the War."
"Israel says that the war is on Hamas," al-Ghoul said. "But on the ground, it's completely different. Most of the children or the victims who came to the hospital, I saw them with my eyes, and everyone can see them on TV news, they are children and women."
His appearance at the 2018 event, Honest Reporting wrote in its report, "suggests his (and his family's) affiliation" with PFLP "is deep."
"The effect such an affiliation might have on his ‘journalistic’ work cannot be understated."
Al-Ghoul is also reported to have served as a member of the Gaza City municipality council, a governing body that, like all others, is controlled by Hamas.
A 2022 Arabic language article showed al-Ghoul "smiling next to Gaza City mayor Yahya Sarraj as they hosted a PFLP delegation to discuss ‘issues of concern to citizens and ways of cooperating,’" according to the report.
"What’s clear," Honest Reporting wrote, "is that such a public role, in an enclave ruled by terrorists and where terrorists are hosted by the mayor, cannot be done without problematic ties. Especially for a journalist who needs to cover political and civilian issues objectively."
CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.